The Art of Succession
by Tweepa
Summary: In a world without Tomura Shigaraki, All For One looks among the children of heroes to find a worthy successor. He finds not one, but two candidates that capture his interest.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

* * *

A mighty figure strolled fearlessly through a neighborhood that housed some of the finest heroes of their time. Some retirees sat a silent vigil on their porches or stared blankly out of the windows, but none noticed the tall man strolling in the darkness dressed in a fine suit. He followed the familiar twists and turns of pavement until he finally made his way to the grandest manor in the neighborhood. He had peeked on a whim - never expecting to find something that would so perfectly fit to his tastes.

Using his air step, the blonde man loitered by the window, a dampening quirk all that was necessary to mask his presence. He watched the familiar, one-sided dance of brilliant orange flames and a stomping beast of a man battle a youngster in dire need of a haircut. The lad's vibrant red hair dipped over his eyes, masking his too expressive face from his father's wrath. "Try harder, Toya!" The giant fellow bellowed, his fists shooting off wave after wave of flames towards the child.

Touya may have intended his shout to be a battle cry, but it broke into a terrified and anguished screech as his skin melted and blistered away. The boy bent into fetal position and tears swept down his sooty face. "I-I can't, Dad," he whimpered, his body shaking. "P-please. St-stop."

As with every other night, the plea fell on dispassionate ears. "You're pathetic," the red-head growled down to his son, his turquoise eyes narrowed. "Your brother and sister are even less suited for combat than you," he grunted, clearly displeased.

From his observations, the figure in the suit knew that the home's very pregnant wife was due to give birth any day. As soon as she did, the father's attentions would slip from young Toya. _Perhaps that's when I'll take the boy,_ All For One told himself. He believed he had found a driven successor in pro-hero Endeavor's eldest son.

* * *

_Sorry to jump back on the Todoroki bandwagon, but I love their story potential. Should I toss Teiko Todoroki, aka Flint, into this AU? She had plenty of action in The Eldest Todoroki and Crimson Tides, but man do I miss the character. She's my favorite OC that I've written. If you haven't read anything else I've done, that's okay. Teiko's just some old, sassy lady. If I write her in, then I'll make sure that the work remains a standalone without delving too much into unnecessary details for those who have read my other stuff.  
__If you're interested in having me continue, drop a review, or just follow the story. If it's not your thing, no biggy. Thanks for dropping by._

To anyone who reads my other stuff, I'll be adding to _Alien Fever _shortly. _A True Hero_ is nearly concluded, and _Tomura's Torment_ is going to get so dark and twisted that I need to do quite a bit of research before I can delve into the mindset of where I need to go.


	2. Beaten

_Toya, 9. Fuyumi, 7. Natsuo 4. Shoto, newborn._

* * *

Toya sat huddled in the corner of his room, an ajar book draped over his lap. He had his light off and read by a flashlight, cautious not to make any noise. Even with all his precautions, he heard the front door open and heavy footsteps thunder through the home. It was only in the silence that followed that Toya caught the absence of Natsuo and Fuyumi's voices.

"Hi, Dad," Fuyumi greeted, caught between love and caution. Even with the red tips on her gray hair, she didn't have any fire abilities. She wasn't his target. Toya's eyes repeatedly slid over the same line of text, numb to any new information.

Everything about Enji was abrupt. His moods swelled so dramatically that he could be frowning one moment and glowering the next. At least when Enji yelled, everyone expected the trouble. It was in the rare whispers of quiet that true terror awoke. "Hi," he said in a hefty breath. In that one syllable, Toya knew that he was in for it. Enji didn't waste any time in taking off his shoes and shoving them to a nearby shelf.

_**Tbump.**_

_It has to work this time._ Toya gripped his pencil so hard that he could feel the wood bend beneath his fingers.

_**Thump.**_ This time closer.

_I look like I'm studying. _Even his thoughts were desperate.

_**Thump. **_How was that ox of a man so quick? He slammed open Toya's door and glared inside. "Get up," Enji's voice boomed through the space.

"I-I'm studying," Toya squeaked, his voice breaking as he tried to find his courage. He'd been trying for years, but had yet to even noose a single strand of it.

Enji narrowed his already squinted eyes. "A real hero doesn't need to know that crap," he snapped, even though he had been the one to tell Toya to keep on top of his school work.

Toya gave himself one last chance. "I hurt," he muttered. His arms were covered in barely healed burns and room was caught in a perpetual reek of medicine.

"You'll keep hurting until you put in the time and effort to get better. You need to stop slacking off, Toya. Even if you are a failure, you're a step above the others." Enji bent over and grabbed Toya's hand, dragging him to his feet. The textbook dropped to the ground and pencil clattered along the wooden floor. Toya hunched his shoulders, instinctually making himself smaller. Pain shot through his limb until all he could do was numbly follow in the path set for him.

* * *

Toya wondered often about heaven and hell. His mother used the words often in sentences. _My life is hell_, she'd said to her parents. He didn't know what she had to complain about. If she'd stay out of the way, she wouldn't get hit. When she ate ice cream with Fuyumi, she said it _tasted like heaven_. When Toya tried the very same flavor, he only found that it was soft and didn't hurt his aching body after a long day of training.

He knew what a failure was. Toya twirled his spoon through his empty bowl, caught in a stupor as he recalled how his feet had been too slow, his fires too insignificant, and his traitorous skin too brittle. Toya cradled the back of his wrist to the still cool porcelain, sighing at the temporary relief it offered. He sat outside, hating the February chill. He trembled and drew his legs to his chest, all the while wondering how much longer he'd have to hide. His crimson hair dipped over his face, covering his hated face.

He looked so much like Enji that Rei couldn't look at him without shaking. He looked so much like Enji that Toya couldn't even look in a mirror. He was forced to lift weights, run, and keep up with a physical regime expected of a pro in training. In four years, he'd be expected to enroll in UA. He didn't know why, since he was told he was pathetic. A loser. Yet Enji was confident Toya would be up to snuff by the deadline.

Inside, he heard young Shoto awaken. The baby's soft and sleepy whimpers were instantly awakened by Rei, who was a loving and doting mother to all of her infants. Toya vividly recalled how his mother had kept his hair long and told him that she liked guys with a bit of mystery. Though they still interacted, he felt the rift growing between them as Enji progressed in Toya's training. Natsuo and Fuyumi were spared from Enji not because they were quirkless, but because they had the _wrong_ quirk. Apparently, ice would always lose against fire. If Enji and Rei's fights were any indication, the fact struck true.

"It's okay, my sweet one," Rei cooed. Thanks to her love of all things cold, she had her window partially open despite the uncomfortable chill in the air. Toya wished he could remember when he was that young. Maybe then he could recall just once when his mother would hold him. All he knew was his father's hate-filled glares and the minute nods that made him feel a stab of trepidation. After every nod came a new way for Enji to hurt Toya. As he listened to his mother sing sweetly to her newest babe, fat tears rolled down his cheeks.

* * *

All For One knew Rei Todoroki shared her bed with Shoto. He'd been watching long enough to think her wise to never let the baby out of her sight. She obsessively baby-wore Shoto. Though it had been quite some time since she last intervened in Toya's training, she ignored her eldest son entirely and poured her love to the youngest child. Endeavor was in his room, sound asleep. Even if he did awaken, All For One could win in a one-on-one against the second best hero.

He watched Toya cry and shake in the darkness, not even daring to allow the porch light to illuminate him. Even though Rei's window was open and she would be able to hear everything, All For One approached. He was curious if she would speak to her son or trust Enji enough to tell him that a stranger had spoken to Toya. All For One's dress shoes moved silently over the snow. They were made of fine leather and had seldom touched the ground. What was the point with a useful quirk like Air Step in his arsenal?

"What's wrong, child?" Toya dropped his bowl and scampered backwards, his bright eyes filled with fear. With his enhanced senses, he heard Rei's movements entirely subside. If he still had x-ray vision, he imagined he'd see her sitting rooted in place. Just to be safe, he began to alter how he would look in her eyes. He focused on the appearance of any bum with scraggly hair, a patchy beard, and overall rough appearance. Even if she wanted to peek, she wouldn't be able to identify him.

Toya looked like a mummy with his wrapped limbs. All For One had read the excuses in Toya's file. _He can't control his quirk. His fire hurts him._ The argument wasn't even convincing, but nobody dared question pro hero Endeavor. The child wiped away his tears and combed his hair self-consciously over his face. "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," he muttered, inching away until his back pressed against his home. Though it wasn't a safe place to be, it was all the boy knew to turn to for safety.

In his years of manipulation, he'd found it was easiest to indoctrinate younger followers. "I'm here to help, Toya Todoroki." Toya shuddered, as if his name were nothing more than a bad memory.

"Nobody helps," he said with a quiver in his chin. Fresh droplets danced down his cheeks.

"Why do you think that is?" All For One pressed, wanting to see how intelligent Toya was before taking him on as a student.

Toya slowly looked up, the brightness of his turquoise eyes partially exposed through his crimson bangs. "Everyone worships Dad. Nobody thinks he could do anything wrong."

All For One nodded, glad that Toya had a grasp on just how corrupt their society had become. "It wasn't always this way. Back when there was a different way, people could choose to swap or even give up their quirks. They were given choices and freedoms that aren't afforded in this day and age."

Toya looked longingly at All For One, as if daring that such a dream were ever true. "That'd be nice," he muttered, glancing downwards after a few seconds. All For One placed his hand on the youngster's head and healed his burns. He felt Toya stiffen at first, but slowly fall lax beneath the touch.

Once all of his charred flesh had been restored, All For One took a step back. "If you wanted, you could become an important piece in restoring that reality." All For One began to turn, testing just how invested Toya was.

"W-wait," he whispered loudly. "What's your name? Where are you going?"

"You may call me Sensei," he answered. "I'll be back next week."


	3. Struggle

Sensei's promise to return somehow tethered Toya to a reality he longed to forget. He became more brutally aware of every ball of fire punched his way. The curiosity that had bloomed inside him had given him a faint hope that things could change. He counted each sunset as if it brought him one step closer to the end of his world. He was brutally berated by his sire for every scream and bit of charred flesh.

"Pathetic," Enji growled at the end of their training session. "This is absolutely inexcusable, Toya. I have no hopes for you, but even you are better than this." He gestured to his son as he lay sideways on the ground, his knees tucked tightly to his chest. Enji closed the gap between them and lifted his nine year old son by the front of his shirt. "Are you going to lay down and play dead with villains? Will you hope they back off, too?" Enji held Toya so they met eye to eye. From his new vantage, Toya realized just how small his world was. "For all our sakes, Shoto better not wind up like you."

Toya's hair blew upwards as he was dropped. Though he tried to land on his feet, he felt his balance falter and ankle twist. He let out a yelp of discomfort and snatched his hands around the bottom of his leg. He expected more insults or even a kick to his ribs. When nothing came, he peeked up through his bangs. Enji stormed from the room, slamming the door in his wake. Toya kept still, mostly because he didn't want to walk and damage himself further. Bit by bit, he curled into a ball and did his best to keep still.

Hours later, he was roused by quiet steps. Rei crouched beside Toya and looked at his numerous wounds, her eyes brimming with tears. She kept Shoto cradled to her in a sling cinched across her body. Though it wouldn't do good in the long-run, she made sure to keep by her youngest son's side. "I'm sorry," she whispered to Toya, her tone filled with desperation. He knew she needed him to understand, but he didn't.

He felt abandoned and hurt. Compassion was the last thing on his mind. "You left me, mom," he whimpered. He too began to feel moisture dribble down his cheeks. "What'd I do wrong?"

Rei's chin quivered. "He would have hurt the baby," she said in a slightly raised voice, pleading with him.

"You don't know that," Toya accused. "You never tried." He tried to sit up, but winced as his ankle began to bother him. "Did he really hurt us when we were little?"

Rei shook her head. "No, he didn't," she admitted meekly.

The answer wasn't what Toya wanted. It made him feel cold and hollow inside. "So he wouldn't have hurt you," he sighed. He peered mournfully through his long hair. "You don't love me anymore." It was so much easier to blame his weak mother. She couldn't, wouldn't harm him. If he so much as gave Enji a look, his father would beat him. Even though it hurt, he rose and forced himself onto his injury. "I don't care. It's fine," he sniffled, his voice cracking.

Rei clutched Shoto close, masking his sweet face from her tears. "No, Toya, I love you," she promised fervently.

"You love him more," Toya hiccuped, glaring at the baby. Rei winced and took a step backwards. It took Toya a moment to recognize that she feared him. Her son. He withered from his anger and wiped at his face. Before he could say anything else to ruin his relationship with his mother, he gimped as swiftly as he could from the room. By the time he curled under his blankets he only had a few hours left in the night. Come morning his alarm blared and he had to continue his life's routine.

Though he hadn't completed his homework, his teachers still praised him incessantly for what he had accomplished. The following night he did even less, just to see if his theory was true. Again, the adults in his world basked in his presence, reverently thanking him for his efforts. He stopped doing homework altogether and nobody said a thing. Toya found he didn't know what to do with the luxurious stretches of nothingness between school and training. He now had four unaccounted hours during the day.

There were still three days before Sensei would arrive. Though Toya knew he'd be beaten later in the evening, he wanted to relish the freedom he had only just discovered. He loitered after school, standing still and allowing himself to feel the warm rays of the sun against a frigid February breeze.

"Do all snakes eat eggs, Iguchi? Come on, suck it!" Three of the bigger kids in Toya's class held down a heteromorph with green scales and pink hair.

They were nothing compared to Enji. As he looked at the bullies holding down Iguchi, Toya felt rage build up inside him. "Hey!" He shouted, his fists balled. Even though he hurt all over, he felt his red fire cascade along his arms. "Knock it off. What'd he do to you?"

One of the riff-raff sneered. "What's it to ya, kid?"

His comrades were quick to pull him down. "Chill out, bro. That's Endeavor's kid."

The first speaker looked over Toya, trying to decide whether or not he wished to continue his assault. After a tense stare-down, he sneered and stepped back from Iguchi. "Next time, Iguchi," the third fellow spat.

Once they were gone, the reptilian looking kid picked his way to his feet, his pink gaze cautiously trained on Toya. "I don't have any money to give you," he muttered, self-consciously running his palm over the back of his neck. "They already took it."

"I don't want your money," Toya answered.

Though Iguchi looked like he didn't believe Toya, he nodded once, his eyes on the sidewalk. "Well, thanks," he muttered.

Toya wasn't used to sticking up to people and Iguchi wasn't used to being saved. It took only an instant for Toya to realize they were both outcasts. "Why'd they pick on you?"

Iguchi frowned up at Toya, waiting for the punchline. When none came, he appeared confused. "Because. I'm. Green. And. Scaly," he said slowly, making each word its own sentence.

"So? One of them had horns." Toya felt equally befuddled. Though he'd experienced bullying, he'd never really too the time to notice the rest of the world.

Iguchi sighed. "You'd think that'd stop 'em, huh?" The boy kicked an errant pebble into the manicured lawn. "I don't wanna sound ungrateful, Todoroki, but they've been pickin' on me for a long time. Why'd you pick today to stop?"

Toya grimaced, a wave of remorse flooding over him. He could have stopped someone from receiving their daily beating, but hadn't looked far enough to see it. "I guess my head was in my ass," he answered.

Iguchi openly gaped at Toya's profanity. "W-well shit," he stammered. As soon as Toya grinned, he could tell he might have found a friend.


	4. Fear

_Toya, 10. Fuyumi, 8. Natsuo 5. Shoto, 1._

* * *

_I forgot to add it earlier, but trigger warnings for the story - abandonment, abuse, violence, etc. Basically this warning is to tell you I don't mark every chapter because I frequently delve into dark and twisty places in my stories. This is a villain story, so I hope it doesn't come as much of a shock that we're going to go into darker subjects._

* * *

Seven days had passed. Rei heard her eldest son's footsteps as he quietly snuck onto the porch, waiting for the stranger to return. Though she hadn't looked before, she had heard the stranger's sweet words and feared for her son. Throughout the week she had called the elders in her old town, seeking answers on how things used to be. She asked all of them if they ever heard of a quirk-swapper. Only one, the oldest and most senile of them all, had been able to offer any answers.

"_Allferun,"_ she had said. "_Allferun gave'n me a quirk 'n made me live'a lon' time" _

The old woman's caretaker said that, as best as they could figure, the woman was a hundred years old. While such an age wasn't unheard of, the elder still walked several miles a day and seemed perfectly sound in body, but her mind was riddled with dementia. Rei knew that like all things in the world, the problem was beyond her. She knew she was a weak woman who couldn't even protect her own son. As she stared down at her little baby Shoto and his two shades of hair, she recognized her time with him would be fleeting. Though Natsuo and Fuyumi were still available to her, she vowed to keep Shoto as near to her for as long as she possibly could.

She never told Endeavor about Shoto's fluctuating body temperature. How one moment he'd be burning with fever and perfectly content with the swell of heat, or how he would feel cold to the touch sometimes when feeding. She knew that, unfortunately, Endeavor had achieved everything he wanted in their littlest boy. Her sole responsibility was to give him some heaven before he went to hell. Dishes went undone and half-eaten meals were abandoned throughout the house. Either the maid or Fuyumi cleaned them, for they were gone as quickly as Rei could make them. She should have felt guilty, but all the mother knew how to feel anymore was fear.

As the hour drew later, Rei awaited Sensei as curiously as Toya did. _Allferun. _Rei thought again, considering the jumbled name. She heard Toya's breath hitch, as if surprised, and Toya scramble to his feet. A glance at the clock told her it was midnight.

"Have you given any thought to my offer?" Sensei asked, his voice the same as before. Rei remained hidden, entirely untrusting of anyone near Shoto. Though she longed to keep Toya safe, he had already been thrown to the wolves. There was nothing she could do for him anymore.

Toya kept rooted on the porch. "Y-yeah. Who wouldn't," he muttered. Rei imagined her crimson-haired boy, stooped self-consciously with is bangs in his face. "Th-there's a kid in school that gets bullied for having scales. Can you take away the quirks of the people who're bullying him?"

"I could," Sensei answered. "If I did, what do you think would happen?"

Silence followed. Toya probably hadn't expected his request to be considered, let alone discussed. "Then there'd be fewer bullies at school," he said slowly, carefully. "So it'd be a nicer place to be."

"You don't think there would be an inquiry into how three young, healthy boys suddenly lost their quirks?"

Rei could imagine Toya's cheeks redding. He probably felt foolish for making such an oversight. Rei wanted to tell him that he was a child, and no child should have to think of such impossible details. "W-would the police be able to find you?"

"No, they would not," Sensei answered. Rei heard complete confidence in his voice. He wasn't smug or prideful, sensei _knew_ he was above the law. "If the bullies were bullied by their victims, would that be fair?"

Toya was quiet again as he worked through another impossible situation. "Y-yes? They've always been bullies. They w-won't change. But Sensei, how did you know there were three?" His voice was more clearly directed. Toya must have looked up.

"I've been watching you, Todoroki Toya. I see a great deal of promise in you." A brief pause filled the air. Rei heard flesh fall upon hair, as if Sensei had put his hand on Toya's head. "You are not a failure." Toya answered with nearly inaudible sniffles and hiccups. Even though he tried to keep himself together, he was clearly crying. The dim sounds were relieved, as if he'd finally found someone to believe in him.

Hearing just how thoroughly she'd failed him broke Rei's frozen heart.

* * *

Rei continued through the motions with Shoto. She carried him and carefully kept him out of Enji's sight. She went through the motions of showing him how much she loved him, even if it hurt her heart. Nightmares plagued her sleep, making her ill rested and clouding her already ruined emotions. _Postpartum depression. Post traumatic stress. Sleep paralysis. _Her list of disorders was ever-growing. _Seven concussions. Bouts of hysteria. Failure as a mother. _As she counted her plethora of problems, Rei felt hopelessness surge around her. The sleep paralysis was thanks to sharing her bed with Shoto. Some part of her mind told her not to thrash or fight, to stay still, as to not hurt her precious boy. _I need to give him heaven_, she told herself as her tears fell onto his red hair.

Too soon, he was walking. Shoto wanted to explore the cold, cruel world and taste all of its disappointments for himself. As his mother, it was her job to support him. She had a panic attack at his first step, driving all sense from her. "No!" Rei shouted, scaring Shoto into falling. Her son flopped onto his back and cried, throwing one of his most intense tantrums. Rei sat on the floor and cried with him, her buzzing ears barely able to register that he'd made a sound. Fire blazed at his left hand and ice scuttled from his left fingertips across the floor.

When the world stilled, she saw a large, brutish figure bend over and pick up her child. Fuyumi had held Shoto once, but never a man. Rei scrambled to her feet. "No. _No! _He's not ready!" She rushed forward. Rei never met Enji's cold, turquoise gaze, but today she almost dared to do it. "He's just a baby!" Rei screamed, grabbing for Shoto, who writhed and wailed in the man's grasp.

"Two quirks," Enji said reverently, basking in the moment. "Fire _and_ ice." Shoto, who had scarcely seen his father before, squirmed and fervently fought to escape.

"Mama, mama!" He pleaded, his generally soft voice a desperate screech.

Enji lifted Shoto by the back of his shirt and held him until they were face to face. "You'll have your mother," he snapped, annoyed to be so easily ignored, "but now you'll know _me_, as well."

* * *

Toya walked through the door, ready for whatever new hell his family had to offer. His mother rushed ineffectually at his father and tried to grab Shoto from his grasp. "No, no! You can't have him," she shouted. "You'll hurt him! No, _please_, Enji - I love him!" Toya didn't bother to be quiet as he slipped off his shoes and jammed them into his cubby.

Somehow, even though he knew the baby had just been condemned to hell, Toya felt relieved.

He walked to his room and wrote in a journal, where he kept track of his life in small lists. He had only begun to lift his pencil when someone pounded on the door. "What?" Toya called, surprising himself with his boldness.

Natsuo nearly fell in his haste to enter the room. "D-dad is going after Shoto," he shouted, as if it were somehow news for Toya.

"I know," the eldest brother replied evenly.

"We-we've got to do something." Natsuo insisted.

Toya's answering laugh was a single, hollow noise. "Why? None of you did anything for me."

Natsuo winced. "If we tried, Dad would get mad. He'd-"

"How is this any different, dumbass?" Toya snapped, snapping shut his notebook. "I'm free now. Sure, it sucks that Shoto's going to have to go through that idiotic training regimine, but my time's over!"

"Says who?" Enji's voice spat. "Do you honestly think that you're off the hook?"

Natsuo cowered away, his bravery from moments before forgotten. Toya couldn't remember the last time when Enji had so much as looked at his middle son, let alone spoken to him. "You have your ultimate achievement, or whatever you want to call Shoto. Like you said before, I'm just a failure."

Enji strode across the room and grabbed Toya by his mop of hair. "As my son, you're a failure," he agreed, "but you're good enough to make it as a decent pro." Toya felt his father's meaty hand grasp his wrist.

_No_. His father's grip was like a shackle, tethering him to a future he didn't want. Before, his flames had been orange and weak. Toya had accepted freedom when Enji put his sights on Shoto. To still have to become a hero was more than he could bear. He heard Sensei's voice in his head, repeating what he longed to hear. _You are not a failure. _

"I am not a failure," he said quietly, his lips barely moving.

Toya so rarely spoke back that Enji narrowed his eyes. "What was that?" He demanded, only barely interested.

Toya glared up at his father. Blue flames started from his left hand and coursed over the rest of his body. "I am not a failure!" He shouted. Desperation had given his fire a new light and heat that was excruciating for him to bear. The moment Enji released his hold, Toya ran out of the house and into the bleak, black night.

* * *

_Sorry for the large delay in this chapter, I was trying to focus mostly on my Mirio x OC work and finish it up. There's just a few chapters left until it's all done. _

_Feel free to leave the names of characters you'd like to see in Shoto's story and the characters you'd like to see in Toya's story. If you have an OC you'd like to recommend, toss me a message telling me about their details: name, age, gender, quirk, stats (power, speed, technique, intelligence, cooperativeness), appearance (skintone, mutation(s), eye & hair color), and most importantly their personality. I have a few teammates picked for each, but always love to hear what y'all think. _


End file.
